Superman/Batman
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Superman/Batman is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular characters: Superman and Batman. Superman/Batman premiered in August 2003 and is an update of the previous series World's Finest Comics, in which Superman and Batman regularly join forces.
Superman/Batman explores the camaraderie, antagonism, and friendship between its titular characters. Prior to the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, the two iconic characters were depicted as the best of friends. Jeph Loeb, the series' first writer, introduced a dual-narrator technique to present the characters' often opposing viewpoints and estimations of each other, which subsequent series writers have maintained. Frank Miller's landmark series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was the first DC story that depicts the heroes at odds with each other, as opposed to Pre-Crisis incarnations. This dynamic became DC Universe canon with John Byrne's The Man of Steel, a Superman reboot published in 1986.
Superman/Batman #26, the first issue after Loeb's final issue, features a story plotted by Jeph Loeb's son, Sam Loeb, who wrote it prior to his death from cancer in 2005 at the age of 17. Twenty-six writers and artists who knew Sam worked on the issue, donating their fees and royalties for the issue to The Sam Loeb College Scholarship Fund.[citation needed]
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[edit] Plot summaries
[edit] Jeph Loeb
In the first story arc, "Public Enemies" (issues #1-6, illustrated by Ed McGuinness), then-U.S. President Lex Luthor declares Superman and Batman enemies of the state, claiming that a kryptonite asteroid headed for Earth is connected to an evil plot by Superman. Luthor offers a $1 billion bounty, which encourages both supervillains and superheroes to attack the two heroes. Superman nearly kills President Luthor in the Oval Office and Batman steps aside to let him, although Superman soon changes his mind. Batman and Superman seek out the new Toyman, Hiro Okamura, who builds a spacecraft with enough firepower to destroy the asteroid. The danger averted and Luthor's plans in jeopardy, Luthor injects himself with a mixture of Venom and synthetic kryptonite, dons a battle suit from the planet Apokolips, and confronts Batman and Superman. Luthor is defeated and appears to die in the battle, although he is shown to survive. The fight costs Luthor his presidency.
In "Protégé" (Issue #7, illustrated by Pat Lee), Superboy and Robin investigate the new Toyman for their mentors.
In "The Supergirl From Krypton" (issues #8-13, illustrated by Michael Turner), the kryptonite asteroid is revealed to hold a pod that contains Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El. Batman is suspicious of the new arrival, saying her arrival is too coincidental. Wonder Woman abducts Kara to Themyscira to train her for combat. Darkseid attacks Themyscira and kidnaps Kara, intending her to be the new leader of the Female Furies. On Apokolips, the heroes rescue Kara after Batman threatens Darkseid with the planet's destruction, unless he agrees to release Kara. Darkseid later attempts to kill Superman at the Kent farm, but Kara blocks the attack, apparently killed by Darkseid's Omega Effect. Enraged, Superman throws Darkseid into the Source Wall. Superman finds Kara alive on Themyscira, where she had been teleported secretly, and he introduces her to the superhero community as Supergirl.
In "Absolute Power" (issues #14-18, illustrated by Carlos Pacheco), three time travelers eliminate members of the Justice League, except for young Superman and Batman, whom they raise as their own children. Batman and Superman are raised to be dictators of the world, eliminating all opposition and killing people who would otherwise be their friends. During a fight with the Freedom Fighters the timeline is thrown into chaos, and the two men travel through alternate timelines. Darkseid makes a deal with them in one reality to send them back through time to stop the supervillains who raised them from altering history. Superman and Batman restore history, but the murders they committed haunt them.
Issue #19 (illustrated by Ian Churchill) is a stand-alone backdoor pilot story for the Supergirl series. The issue was later reprinted as Supergirl #0.
In "With A Vengeance!" (issues #20-25, illustrated by Ed McGuiness), Mr. Mxyzptlk battles the Joker, who has tricked Bat-Mite out of his powers, using other characters as their pawns. Superman and Batman fight a team of superheroes from an alternate universe called the Maximums (a pastiche of Marvel Comics' Avengers series, more specifically their incarnations from the Ultimate universe, the Ultimates). Keeping the bargain he made in "Absolute Power", Superman frees Darkseid from the Source Wall, and, double-crossed by Darkseid, becomes trapped in the Source Wall instead. Recruited by Bizarro, multiple versions of Supergirl rescue Superman from the Source Wall before they are all transported to an arena. There, they fight Darkseid, Lex Luthor, and evil versions of Superboy and Supergirl in a battle that involves versions of Supermen and Batmen from many different realities. Bat-Mite escapes, and the two imps tie up all the loose ends and return all the participants to their point of origin.
[edit] Sam Loeb
Before he finished writing Superman/Batman #26, Jeph Loeb's son Sam died on June 17, 2005 at the age of 17 after a three-year battle with cancer. The issue was supposed to be Sam's DC writing debut, and was to be illustrated by Pat Lee.Jeph, along with 25 other comic book professionals and artists who had known Sam, worked on the issue, scripting or penciling individual pages. Marvel Comics allowed John Cassaday and Joss Whedon to work on the issue despite their exclusive contracts. All 26 contributors donated their fees and royalties for the issue to The Sam Loeb College Scholarship Fund.
In "The Boys Are Back in Town" (issue #26), Superman and Batman send Superboy and Robin to visit the Toyman in Japan because he has not been heard from in a while. The issue was released shortly after Superboy's death in Infinite Crisis #6, and Robin's eulogy of Superboy serves as both a framing sequence and as a meditation on the author's passing.
The 26 contributors to the issue:
"Sam's Story", a back-up story written by Jeph Loeb ten days after his son's death, depicts young Clark Kent's friendship with a boy named Sam who gets cancer. Tim Sale provides the art for the story in a style reminiscent of the Superman For All Seasons limited series.[1]
[edit] Mark Verheiden
Superman writer and Smallville producer Mark Verheiden took over Superman/Batman with issue #27.
In "Never Mind" (issue #27, illustrated by Kevin Maguire), Superman and Batman find their minds have been transferred by Ultra-Humanite and Brainwave into the bodies of Power Girl and the Huntress, respectively, and must race the clock before the change goes full circle; Power Girl and Huntress are still in their bodies, and, eventually, they shall subconsciously assert themselves, killing Superman and Batman mentally in the process. The issue is presented as a dream that Power Girl has while in Kandor, alluding to events that happened on the parallel world of Earth-2 prior to the merging of the multiverse into the New Earth.
In "The Enemies Among Us" (issues #28-33, illustrated Ethan Van Sciver for the first four parts, with Matthew Clark picking up parts 5 and 6), Batman is attacked by what appears to be a rampaging Martian Manhunter, and the heroes try to stop the Martian as he shapeshifts into various supervillains from the past. It turns out that all the superheroes who are of alien origin, including Superman, are being controlled by an alien entity called a Blackrock. Now Batman must stop the madness thats controlling them and bring them back to reality. At the end of the story arc, Batman and Superman shake hands, and think of each other as friends. It is possible that their previously some-what antagonistic relationship has changed to one of friendship.
In "A.I." (issues #34-36, illustrated by Pat Lee), Superman and Batman are (apparently) introduced to Will Magnus and his Metal Men for the first time. After an incident at Wayne Industries, Bruce Wayne hires the Metal Men as a security guard team. When the Metal Men go on a rampage and steal a prototype O.M.A.C., Batman and Superman pursue them to find that they are being controlled by Brainiac. The 3-part mini ends with the O.M.A.C. being destroyed and Superman unsure of Batman when it comes to O.M.A.C. type weapons being made in the future.
[edit] Alan Burnett
Known for his work on the DC animated universe and The Batman, Alan Burnett took over as writer of the series with issue #37.
[edit] Bibliography
- Superman/Batman Secret Files 2003 (November 2003)
- Superman/Batman #1- (October 2003 - )
- Superman/Batman Annual #1 (October 2006)
This series has been collected in the following trade paperbacks:
| Title | Material collected | ISBN |
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| Volume 1: Public Enemies | Superman/Batman #1-6 "When Clark Met Bruce" from Secret Files & Origins 2003 |
Hardcover: ISBN 1-4012-0323-X Paperback: ISBN 1-4012-0220-9 |
| Volume 2: Supergirl | Superman/Batman #8-13 | Hardcover: ISBN 1-4012-0347-7 Paperback: ISBN 1-4012-0250-0 |
| Volume 3: Absolute Power | Superman/Batman #14-18 | Hardcover: ISBN 1-4012-0447-3 Paperback: ISBN 1-4012-0714-6 |
| Volume 4: Vengeance | Superman/Batman #20-25 | Hardcover: ISBN 1-4012-0921-1 |
| Volume 5: Enemies Among Us | Superman/Batman #28-33 | Released: 9th May |
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| Creators | Bob Kane · Bill Finger · Other writers and artists |
| Supporting characters | Robin (Tim Drake) · Nightwing (Dick Grayson) · Batgirl · Batwoman · Alfred Pennyworth · Lucius Fox · Barbara Gordon · Commissioner Gordon · Harvey Bullock · Azrael · Huntress · Damian Wayne |
| Villains | Bane · Catwoman · Clayface · Harley Quinn · Joker · Killer Croc · Mad Hatter · Mr. Freeze · Penguin · Poison Ivy · Ra's al Ghul · Red Hood (Jason Todd) · Riddler · Scarecrow · Talia al Ghul · Two-Face |
| Locations | Arkham Asylum · Batcave · Gotham City · Wayne Enterprises · Wayne Manor |
| Miscellanea | Batarang · Batmobile · Batsuit · Utility Belt · Popular media · Publications · Storylines · Alternate versions of Batman |
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| Creators | Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster |
| Characters | Superman (Clark Kent) · Lois Lane · Jimmy Olsen · Perry White · Jor-El and Lara · Ma and Pa Kent · Lana Lang · Pete Ross · Steel · Superboy (Kal-El; Kon-El) · Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) · Krypto · Eradicator · Chris Kent |
| Villains | Lex Luthor · Bizarro · Brainiac · Cyborg Superman · Darkseid · Doomsday · General Zod · Metallo · Mongul · Mr. Mxyzptlk · Parasite · Prankster · Toyman · Ultra-Humanite · Intergang · Phantom Zone villains |
| Locations | Daily Planet · Fortress of Solitude · Krypton · Metropolis · Smallville |
| Storylines | The Origin of Superman · Relationship of Clark Kent and Lois Lane · The Death of Superman |
| Miscellanea | Kryptonite · Powers · Symbol · Publications · Supporting characters · Alternate versions of Superman · History of Superman · Superman in popular culture |
